TWO men have appeared in court charged with the murder of missing father-of-six John Iveson.
Nantwich man Mark Done, 47, and 39-year-old Paul Billington, from Rossett, appeared before Chester Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
Although no body has been found, the accused are two of four men arrested on suspicion of murder in June. The other two, a 63-year-old man from Stoke-on-Trent and a 36-year-old man from Crewe, have been released without charge.
Mr Iveson, 41, from Nantwich, was last seen on January 30 in 2007.
His body has never been recovered but an extensive police investigation led to the initial arrest of three men. One of them was Billington, and a fourth man, Done, was arrested just days later.
The pair will now appear at Chester Crown Court on October 24. They have both been remanded in custody, but will attend a hearing in Manchester today (Thursday) in an attempt to be granted bail.
Their court appearance is the culmination of a four-and-a-half year investigation ‘Operation Pisces’, during which police issued several witness appeals.
Mr Iveson has been described by police as both a loving family man and a property developer and businessman.
He was married and, at the time of his disappearance, had six young children.
His wife Julie was pregnant when he went missing and in March 2007 she gave birth to a son he has never seen.
